The Airbnb we stayed in during our visit to Rome, Italy was conveniently located near the Roman Colosseum. You could just see it down the street but not quite. We walked by this gorgeous building frequently, of course, spent one-morning visiting. It’s easy enough to take children to visit the Roman Colosseum and nearby Forum Grounds when visiting Rome, Italy on your next Europe trip.
Our trip to Italy was in January of 2016. Our child turned 6 months old during the trip. We traveled with my brother, and my husband. Check out my tips for the international flight, and more posts on the trip.
The morning of our visit to the Roman Colosseum and Forum grounds it was Foggy. During our two week stay, we never saw fog like this. It reminded us of home because we experience so much fog in Prince George. Seeing the Colosseum dropped in the fog was a remarkable view. Traveling January was amazing, and we knew the Colosseum is a busy attraction, so we visited first thing in the morning. This helped beat the lines and the tour buses. While there is much traffic in Rome in January, tours still happen, and I don’t like getting mixed in with one.
Should you Babywear or bring a stroller to the Roman Colosseum?
Surprise. The elevator didn’t work the day we visited the Roman Colosseum. Otherwise, this historic site is pretty easy to visit with wheels. Luckily our lightweight stroller was easy to carry upstairs.
There were some difficulties in the forum grounds with the stroller because of the stairs and getting places, but we managed. Sometimes, I just wish I was a more comfortable babywearing at the time, and we would have packed a backpack and carried stuff and kids. It makes exploring more fun if you can just go without trying to find ramps, or carry strollers.
If you are continuing onwards to explore the Forum, BABYWEAR. The Forum & Palatine Hill are not smooth, accessible surfaces. There are many gaps in the paths that are supposedly for wheelchair use. We often found ourselves on some bumpy roads, and leaving the baby, sleeping, while we clambered over things to go further. I was regretting my umbrella stroller and wishing I had my all-terrain jogging stroller! (or that I just should have sucked it up and tossed that baby on my back).
Exploring & Visiting the Historic Sites
We opted for audio guides at the Roman Colosseum. It is short and brief, and perhaps not as much information as I would like, but with a baby, you don’t really wanna be trapped for too long. I’m not sure if their audio guides on Palatine Hill/Forum, but there were lots of available information signs to read up on and learn about what you were exploring.
Honestly, we had no idea what we were doing after we visited the Roman Colosseum. We knew our tickets got us into the other area, but we didn’t understand the vast size of Palantine Hill & The Forum. We were not prepared.
Palatine Hill/The Forum is a giant park space for ancient stuff. It has ancient ruins to explore as well as homes of the wealthy, public spaces and more. There are tons to see, and lots to see. It’s a long day of exploring, but we didn’t quite know that. But it’s totally fun! I love wandering around and looking and taking everything in. We definitely could have spent ALL day there.
So… bring water and bring food. I’d bring a picnic and have a beautiful picnic at the top. Next time. It’s a fun area to explore. Enjoy it. A stroller might only be handy if your baby and you get tired easily. But not practical (unless you had your all-terrain jogger with you)
There’s a washroom at the top of Palatine Hill, and there is a change table inside for easy changing of babies. (Or if you’re in a pickle, just find a bench somewhere. That works too).
Final Thoughts
Babies are transportable, see what you want to look at. If this doesn’t interest you, then skip this historic site. If the baby is fussy, you can just check out the Forum, or come back another time. Or, you can see most of it from the streets of Rome too.
Enjoy your time, and see what you want to look at. Don’t forget to take cute unforgettable photos in these landscapes. It’s gorgeous.
Leave a Reply